According to the Cisco Annual Security Report, in a sample of 30 of the world’s largest multinational company networks all shared the fact their organization had traffic going to web-sites that host malware. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, it is increasingly difficult to address them in real-time.

In many cases, years pass before organizations are aware their networks have been breached. To compound this issue, finding the right talent to effectively staff security operations can be a challenge. Cisco estimates this year there will be a global shortage of more than one million security professionals. Leveraging external security experts helps reduce cost and provides an opportunity for internal resources to focus on other business priorities.Managed Threat Defense is an on-premises solution, comprised of hardware, software, and analytics designed to monitor, capture, and analyse threats. Cisco’s worldwide network of expert-staffed security operations centres (SOCs) monitor the service and provide incident response analysis, escalation, and remediation recommendations.

Additionally, Managed Threat Defense aims to do the following:

– Protect against unknown attacks, not seen by anti-virus, by capturing real-time streaming telemetry.

– Identify known attacks and vulnerabilities using pattern analysis and investigation against both Cisco-proprietary and community threat intelligence data.

– Provide incident tracking and reporting via a subscription-based business model. This approach can lower operational costs and utilises Cisco’s continued investment in security technology, processes, and talent.

Bryan Palma, SVP Cisco Security Solutions, said: "As data continues to move to the cloud, more people are accessing data via mobile devices, in addition to sharing data through social channels. Consequently, security has become our customers’ number one concern. Managed Threat Defense lessens the worry associated with protecting against a breach and allows Cisco and its partners to add value where customers need it most."